The 1920s were a heyday for rocketeers, who were attaching rockets to just about anything. Austrian space travel promoter Max Valier was pretty much the champ at this, creating everything from rocket-powered sleds and boats to rocket-propelled railroad cars and the first rocket airplane. »12/03/13 7:40am 12/03/13 7:40am

A stubby-winged plane launches itself from an airport runway on the outskirts of Berlin. When it reaches an altitude of several miles, it fires its rocket engines, lifting itself high into the stratosphere. And then it coasts across the Atlantic Ocean. Its passengers, strapped into their cushioned, contoured chairs,… »7/16/12 8:00am 7/16/12 8:00am